Digital Times » Campaigns

Interacting with the suburbs – an Arcade Fire project

Stephen — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:28:36 +0000

This is pretty cool. It’s an interactive music video for Arcade Fire’s ‘We Used to Wait’ single from The Suburbs album. You will need to launch Google’s Chrome browser and type in your address (Dublin comes up). The HTML5-enabled engine will then use multiple Chrome windows and Google maps to take you on a journey of the area you grew up in. The two behind the concept are @radical.media director Chris Milk and Google’s Aaron Koblin. Production is by B-Reel. Click here http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/ to see what’s what, but you will need to use the Chrome Browser for the full effect.

Sony Ericsson is the official mobile of the UEFA Champions League

Stephen — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 19:21:22 +0000

Sony Ericsson has announced it will leverage Sony Corporation’s existing partnership with UEFA to start a global marketing programme around the UEFA Champions League until 2012. This will see Sony Ericsson become the official mobile handset of the UEFA Champions League, as part of Sony’s UEFA Champions League Partnership.
The programme will have a fan-focused approach and will build on previous marketing programmes. Offering an ‘on-device’ experience will be part of the new programme, which will use the GPS capabilities of Sony Ericsson smart phones to “enhance the fan experience”. This will include a new mobile app developed in conjunction with UEFA.com.
“Using the existing GPS capabilities of our Xperia smart phones to enhance the fan experience is an exciting part of this programme. This new initiative will build on our other ongoing worldwide sponsorship campaigns.” said Lennard Hoornik, corporate vice president and head of global marketing, Sony Ericsson.

Delivering hype

Digital Times — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:57:03 +0000

Microsoft Xbox and Bungie just released ‘Deliver Hope’, the latest installment in the ad campaign to promote the game ‘Halo Reach’. The live-action short was directed by Noam Murro and depicts “the sacrifice of the Spartan Noble Team as they defend planet Reach from a Covenant invasion”. Exactly. An extended version of the film is set to debut in September, just prior to the game’s launch on Sept. 14. A nice way to whet gamers’ appetites.

New online campaign for Audi A1

Stephen — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:05:30 +0000

A new ad campaign for the launch of the Audi A1 is being rolled out across all media but particularly online channels in Ireland. The campaign is by Agency.com (CawleyNea-TBWA), Dublin and is called www.thea1chase.ie.
People are invited to register for the chase via a personalised video. “The chase then begins in earnest on 22/09/10, when there will be a series of cryptic clues revealed, leading the public on a virtual and real world chase to track down the car. The winner drives away with a new Audi A1,” says Deirdre Waldron, MD, Agency.com.

Get in the game – new experiential marketing tool from Aviva

Edward — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:39:43 +0000

Aviva announced their new 3D point of view marketing experience today. The technology was built and designed by v-Stream, a Dublin based digital agency. Basically you get to “experience” what a player feels in the build up to and during the warm up of a game in the Aviva Stadium. Following the rituals from changing room to running out onto the pitch and having a 3D interaction with a simulated Avivia stadium. It does sound pretty cool. A little gimmicky perhaps, but then all these type of initiatives are.

Importantly, it is a world first in terms of technical innovation in software to personalise stereoscopic 3D video. A couple of quotes from the main heads are below:

Niall O’Driscoll, creative director at vStream – ”This is a big step forward in experiential marketing in Ireland, with the 3D element playing a major part. 3D is very much the next big thing, and is a first for Ireland from a visual perspective. We spent a number of months researching the technology in the UK in order to bring these capabilities into the country, and we aim to produce a lot more content of this kind. We see the world in three dimensions, so in many ways the shift from 2D to 3D is as significant as the move from black and white to color.”

Andrew Jenkinson, technical director of vStream, notes that the technology that is used to make the experience personal to each viewer is a worlds first. “Personalised 2D video has been around for a few years, but creating 3D personalised video has never been done before, and it took many months of R&D to develop the software to create a truly immersive experience for the client. We already have interest from a number of international clients.”

The 3D stadium experience will go on tour around the country in the next while and should pop up at festivals and major events such as the Electric Picnic. It will also be housed in Aviva Stadium.

A global, crowd sourcing, creative ‘fight’ from Victors & Spoils

Stephen — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:19:42 +0000

For all you creatives out there looking to impress the world, here’s something that may whet your appetite. The International ANDY Awards has announced a global ‘Call for Entries’ creative challenge developed in partnership with Victors & Spoils.
Victors & Spoils is a tres hot American ad agency that crowd sources ideas. The online competition invites people from around the world to submit original, creative concepts promoting the The 2011 International Awards call for entries. The person behind the chosen entry will be awarded the last remaining seat on next year’s prestigious ANDY Awards Jury.
The ANDYs ‘Call for Entries’ project will be conducted using a new digital platform from Victors & Spoils called ‘The Squirrel Fight’, which enables the greater creative community to submit ideas into a simple, online template. Ideas proposed through The Squirrel Fight will be shortlisted by Evan Fry and Noah Clark of Victors & Spoils. This marks the first project open to the public on the Victors & Spoils ‘Squirrel Fight’.
The deadline for ANDYs ‘Call for Entries’ submissions is September 1, 2010 and the chosen concept will be announced on September 7, 2010. To submit creative concepts to ‘The Squirrel Fight’, entrants should visit http://victorsandspoils.com/squirrelfight.
For more on the International ANDY Awards try here www.andyawards.com

The Carphone Warehouse is title sponsor of The Appys

Stephen — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:01:52 +0000

The Carphone Warehouse has announced its title sponsorship of The Appys 2010. The Carphone Warehouse stocks all smartphone brands across all the various app development platforms and networks and is, therefore, “an excellent title sponsor of the awards program,” says Stephen Conmy, editor, Digital Times (pictured right).
The Appys with The Carphone Warehouse was conceived by Alchemy Events and Digital Times with the aim of highlighting and rewarding the talent emerging in the app development industry.
“App development is a media sector in its own right now,” says Des Dorris, MD of Alchemy Events. “Apps are now media channels and utility tools and some of the most creative aspects of the new media landscape are emerging from app developers. We want to highlight the great work they are doing.”
The CEO of The Carphone Warehouse, Stephen Mackarel (left) says, “Apps are becoming an integral part of Irish life, and with so many available in the market, it is critical that best Apps and the people who developed them are acknowledged and awarded. As an independent mobile provider and stockist of all brands and operating systems, we wanted to sponsor The Appys to recognise app development across all platforms. We look forward to announcing the winners in November.”
To enter visit http://www.theappys.ie

The Judges for The Appys with The Carphone Warehouse are:
Stephen Mackarel, CEO, The Carphone Warehouse
Stephen Conmy, Digital Times
Alex Gibson, The Persuaders
Tim Duggan, Partner, Mercury Girl and Mercury Boy Inc.
Jonathan Forrrest, MD, Cybercom
Jane McDaid, MD, Thinkhouse,
Darragh Doyle, communications manager, Boards.ie
Colm Grealy, CEO, DRG
Ronan Higgins, CEO & Founder, Appsie
Conor Lynch, connector.ie
Patrick Lenehan, CTO, The Independent Group
Alexis Bouckaert, creative director, Rothco
Dr. Evelyn Balfe, business innovation analyst, Amdocs
Ruadhan O’Donaghue, project leader and site editor, dotMobi
Claire Carroll, digital media strategist, Ogilvy Neo
Pictured are (l-r) Des Dorris, MD Alchemy Events; Stephen Conmy & Edward Conmy

Campaign – an online treasure hunt from Globrix.ie

Edward — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:58:50 +0000

Globrix.ie, the digital property search engine from the Irish Independent, has launched an online treasure hunt as part of a marketing drive.
The digital campaign invites ‘hunters’ to track down six ‘iconic Irish properties’.
Each time a hunter finds one of the properties they are entered into a draw for €1,000. If a person finds two properties they will be entered twice, however, if they find all six properties they will be entered into the hat six times.
There are clues to help people track down the six properties. For example, the clue for the Anglo Irish Bank HQ reads like this: ‘Pre-loved, corporate HQ centrally located on Dublin’s St. Stephen’s Green. One previous owner. Priced to sell. All offers accepted’.
http://content.globrix.ie/globrix6/ has more details.

38 days, 18 European cities and 10,000 km later

Stephen — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:14:58 +0000

For all you petrol heads out there (here at DT we are car crazy) this is the latest big advertising idea from Honda. Earlier this year Honda and its ad agency Grey London invited people to submit their ideas for their dream journey across Europe. The 13 best ideas were then made into a film to promote the hybrid CR-Z car. The film, entitled Live Every Litre, will debut on July 21. Above is the trailer.

Fooling and baiting traditional media

Stephen — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 09:33:35 +0000

There’s a bit of a trend developing in the US. Marketers are creating spoof documentaries in the hope that the videos will go viral, but also in the hope that traditional media outlets will take the stories seriously and report on them as if real.
The Hi-Tec ‘Liquid Mountaineering’ video is a good example. The documentary about some crazy Europeans and their new sport was reported as real news by NBC in Washington. A nice bit of earned media for Hi-Tec and it resulted in the spoof soaring up the viral charts, attracting 2.5 million views in one week alone.
Another piece of earned media involves the far right nit wit Bill O’Reilly of Fox News going berserk over a French TV ad for McDonald’s. O’Reilly ranted and raved about the ad which shows a clueless father trying to connect with his gay son in a McDonald’s. This ad also climbed the viral charts in the US, proving O’Reilly spectacularly wrong. He said it would ‘never’ play in America. Maybe someone should tell him about this thing called the Internet?